Memories of Selena just as clear 5 years after death

Sewing teacher, neighbors reminisce about the Tejano singer - her dreams, hairstyles and loud music

CORPUS CHRISTI - Her first sewing teacher remembers Selena running into the classroom, worrying that her Easter dress was too short and that her mother wouldn't allow her to wear it to perform for a quinceanera.

Her neighbor remembers how her young daughter, who helped Selena weed the yard while they gossiped, clung to the fence of her house for hours after the singer was fatally shot.

Teen-agers in Molina laugh as they recount chasing Selena's large dogs down the street after they escaped from her yard, then going with her to eat at McDonald's.

On the fifth anniversary of Selena's death, memories of the Tejano star are still strong among residents of the Molina neighborhood of Corpus Christi. And her appeal among the fans who visit her statue, her grave or who shop at her sister's boutique is even stronger than when she was alive.

At West Oso Junior High School, teachers and students still discuss how she wore her hair (different every day), how good a student she was (average) and how she caught the attention of a guitar-playing boy named Chris Perez, with whom she would later elope.

Since she was in the eighth grade, Selena knew she wanted to be a singer and that she wanted to design clothes, said her teacher, Anna Engelking. Engelking taught Selena how to thread a sewing machine and helped her make her first garment, a pair of tights.

"She came to me and said I had to help her because she was going to perform for a 15th birthday party in her Easter dress and her mother said the dress was too short,'' Engelking said. "She had grown quite a bit. So, we made a pair of tights.''

Engelking said that Selena, even at 12, had an eye for bright colors and flashy clothes.

"One of the first things she made in my class was a black dress, and she sewed fringe on the bust, fringe on the hips, and fringe on the bottom, so it would shake when she moved,'' Engelking said. "She turned it inside out and sewed it because she wanted to make it tighter. She did that with a lot of her clothes."

Engelking said that even at 12, Selena had an impressive sense of direction.

"She knew what she wanted to do, even then,'' Engleking said. "She already knew that she wanted to have her own boutique and design her own clothing line. She knew she wanted to be a famous singer."

She said that although Selena had a taste for the flashy, her mother made her dress modestly.

"She dressed just like any other little girl,'' Engelking said. "She wore jeans and little cotton tops. She loved her dogs. The other children liked her, and the boys were beginning to notice her. She sang at school sometimes, and people were aware that she had a talent.

"She would always wear this pair of yellow jeans,'' Engelking said. "I can see her bouncing in here in those yellow jeans just like it was today, asking me to help her with a project. Her favorite colors were purple and yellow. I was lucky because I taught a subject Selena was enthused about.''

Engelking said she was disappointed when Selena dropped out of school after junior high, finishing high school by correspondence. She also thought Selena should have known Spanish.

"It came as real disadvantage to her later that she didn't,'' Engelking said. "When she went on tour in Mexico she couldn't communicate.

"I use her as an example to my students, that they need to speak Spanish,'' she said.

Patricia Kulp taught Selena Texas history in the seventh grade.

"She was an average student, but she passed,'' Kulp said. "One of the problems was that she was gone so much. She missed class a lot to perform. She was fairly quiet in class, and I only remember having to call her parents about her a few times.''

Visiting Selena

Some of the mothers in the Molina neighborhood liked Selena but could become frustrated with how much she was adored by their pre-teen daughters.

"My daughter, Gloria, wanted us to get white leather sofas like Selena had and arrange our house just like hers,'' said Kathie Fling,who still lives near the Molina home where Selena lived. "Gloria was always at Selena's house, and it was always 'Selena this, Selena that.' We got sick of it. We'd say, 'No more about Selena, OK?' Of course, now we listen to all her stories.''

Fling said that her family frequently visited Selena, riding bikes with her, helping her weed her garden and even dusting her awards for her.

"Her house had a very distinctive smell,'' Fling said. "She would boil orange peels and spices on the stove."

When the Quintanillas moved into the neighborhood, their music wasn't as polished as it later became, and neighbors complained, Fling said.

"Some people would call the police. They would watch the clock. 9:58. 9:59. And at 10 p.m. on the dot they would dial 911, and say the Quintanillas were making noise in the garage.''

For Fling, Selena was just a pretty young woman who lived in what neighbors referred to as "the band house,'' and who was sweet to her daughter.

"I didn't know how famous she was until she was killed,'' Fling said. "I came home from work and traffic was backed up for blocks. The police wouldn't let me through to my house. I could see my daughter hanging on Selena's fence crying. It took us hours to get her down from that fence.''

Instilling pride

Fling remembers how Selena changed.

"I remember all the stages she went through,'' Fling said. "I remember how her hairstyles would change. She went through one period where she had short hair and a perm. My son thought she looked ugly. But she always had a way about her. She had the confidence to pull anything off.

"She had an incredible laugh,'' Fling said. "It rose from inside her like it came from her soul. It was a loud, happy laugh. There was nothing fake about Selena."

Children in the neighborhood remember chasing Selena's dogs when they got loose, and how she would take them out for a treat at McDonald's as a reward for catching the dogs.

"We would always chase her dogs,'' said Nika Ramsey, 12. "Now, we go put flowers on her grave.''

Laura Gutierrez, 12, said her father, Hector Gutierrez, used to play music with Selena's father.

"He always tells stories about her, like how she gave money to pay for a softball team for the school, and how she almost tripped over the cord of her microphone and hurt herself,'' Gutierrez said.

Natalie Tejeda, 14, would make a point to walk by her house and wave and speak.

"She brought a lot of pride to this neighborhood,'' Tejeda said. "She remembered where she came from and never turned her back on it."

Sandra Gomez, 13, remembers playing with Selena's dogs and visiting with her.

"We used to stop by her house,'' Gomez said. "We bought candles and lit them when she died. I know all of her songs.''

Never forgotten

Tourists still gather at her memorial statue by the Corpus Christi bayfront, at her grave and at her shop.

"We can't come see the real Selena, so we come here,'' said Houston resident Janie Campos, 32, lightly running her hands over the bronze statue. "She has meant a lot to Hispanic women. She has told us it is OK to be ourselves."

"I am a Selena impersonator,'' said Letty Rico, 13, of Dallas, thumbing through some snazzy outfits. "I sing at all kinds of occasions. People want to see me because I remind them of her. She won't ever be forgotten.''